Magis Medal

To celebrate the Alpha Sigma Nu tenets, starting in 2017-2018 academic year, the Magis Medal will be awarded annually to two Alpha Sigma Nu members who best exemplify scholarship, loyalty, and service in their work to better the world.

The Magis Medal was founded as part of the Centennial celebration of Alpha Sigma Nu in 2015. To honor the 100th anniversary of the Society, 100 members were awarded the Magis Medal. The original 100 Magis Medal winners embodied their Jesuit roots in their daily work in varied ways. Many started or contributed significantly to non-profit organizations, some with Jesuit connections, which directly addressed social justice issues. Others advocated for social justice through their professional work, such as attorneys making pro bono work a priority. Winners focused their work on social justice issues from the environment to disaster relief to refugee aid programs. Through this annual award, Alpha Sigma Nu hopes to highlight the great work being done by fellow members living their pledge out in the world after graduation and inspire new members to carry that flame with them as they begin their careers.

Alpha Sigma Nu is proud to announce the two winners of the 2018 Magis Medal. In this inaugural year as an annual award, the Magis Medal highlights Douglas McCabe, PhD and Nhi Pham, DDS.

Dr. Douglas McCabe (Marquette '70)

Dr. McCabe, PhD is awarded the Magis Medal for his involvement with Dog Tag, Inc. Dr. McCabe, a native of Chicago, received his BA in 1971 from Marquette University. He earned his MS from Loyola University Chicago in 1973 and his PhD in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University in 1977. In 1982, he was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in the School of Business at Georgetown University. He holds the distinction of being the youngest person in the history of the school to date to receive that promotion and the distinction of becoming the youngest full professor in the history of the school.

Dog Tag, Inc., offers transition programming that empowers the lives of veterans with service connected disabilities, military spouses, and caregivers through a fellowship program that fosters an entrepreneurial mindset in a small business environment, Dog Tag Bakery. Serving as the backbone of the fellowship program are seven business courses taught by Georgetown University faculty that ultimately comprise a non-credit certificate in business administration. Professor McCabe dedicates his time to teaching two of these courses: Principles of Management and Business Policy. The fellow population is unique and comes with an inherent set of challenges, primarily stemming from service connected injury and recovery.The fellowship program began in 2014 with Dr. McCabe at its heart. He has remained through graduation of six cohorts and is set to teach again for the seventh group. Through their interactions with Dr. McCabe, fellows gain managerial insight and understanding of the business world, and perhaps more importantly, they begin to build their own confidence. The program began in 2014 with Dr. McCabe as its heart. Dr. McCabe encourages the fellows to envision a life without their military uniform, and what their new mission and purpose is in the civilian world. His commitment is relentless and his belief in our fellows is unwavering.

Dr. Nhi Pham (Seattle University '94)

Dr. Nhi Pham, a 1995 alumna of Seattle University, is an accomplished dentist, generous humanitarian, and visionary leader and mentor. As Jesuit Jerry Cobb, SJ, noted in a recent Seattle University Magazine profile, "Nhi is my ideal of a Sullivan scholar alumna [Seattle University's prestigious scholarship reserved for students of the highest character and academic caliber] because of her combination of personal warmth, deep insight and heroic hard-work habits."

Dr. Pham is involved in more than 10 local and international organizations. Veterans and refugees are her particular focus; she embodies the Gospel values and the Ignatian invitation to help fashion a more just, humane, and sustainable world. Her international efforts include opening a medical and dental clinic in Tanzania and providing dental care to Syrian and Afghan refugees.

Dr. Pham models how social justice can be promoted in business. Her dental offices have a a community outreach coordinator, her employees join her on mission trips, and the clinic provides free dental care to military veterans on their annual "Freedom Day."

As a 1975 Vietnamese refugee and professional woman of color, mentoring female dental clinicians and serving refugees and war veterans is not merely an academic exercise. For Dr. Pham, these servant-led practices allow her to experience the fullness of her whole self and inspire others with memory and imagination.